Mirroring dongle having function of analyzing mirroring data and method of controlling mirroring data

ABSTRACT

A mirroring dongle includes an interface unit that makes a wired connection to an AVN system of a vehicle and a processor including a receiving unit that receives driving information of the vehicle from the AVN system through the interface unit, and receives mirroring data from an external wireless terminal through a wireless communication, a determining unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is moving, based on the driving information, and determines a type of the mirroring data, a control unit that, when the vehicle is not moving, outputs the mirroring data as they are regardless of the type of the mirroring data, and when the vehicle is moving, outputs the mirroring data as they are only when the mirroring data are the non-movie data, and an output unit that outputs the mirroring data to the AVN system through the interface unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2014-0186074 filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office onDec. 22, 2014 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-001386 filed withthe Japanese Patent Office on Jan. 7, 2015, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a mirroring dongle having a functionof analyzing mirroring data and a method of controlling the mirroringdata, and more particularly, to a mirroring dongle having a function ofanalyzing mirroring data received from a wireless terminal andoutputting the mirroring data to an AVN (Audio, Video, and Navigation)system when the mirroring data are non-movie data under a predeterminedcondition and a method of controlling the mirroring data. The AVN systemrefers to an in-vehicle system providing audio function, video function,and navigation function. The audio function refers to a function ofoutputting audio contents such as music. The video function refers to afunction of outputting video contents such as movie. The navigationfunction refers to a function of providing driving information includinga map and a route to a destination, such as a car navigation.

2. Description of the Related Art

An introduction of an AVN (Audio, Video, and Navigation) system to avehicle, which can play various multimedia contents, enabled driver andpassenger(s) to watch movie contents such as film and broadcast in avehicle.

Such AVN system offers a navigation function as well as the function ofplaying various multimedia contents. In recent years, the navigationfunction has become one of the main functions in the AVN system.

Although the navigation function is performed in the in-vehicle AVNsystem, in recent years, a navigation function of a mobile device hasalso become widely used. As the mobile device constantly provides atimely update of navigation data with information reflecting real-timetraffic conditions, in some cases, the navigation function of the mobiledevice is more efficient to use.

In order to make full use of such merits, a mirroring service thatallows an operation of the mobile device to be used in the same mannerin the AVN system of the vehicle has been developed, so that thenavigation function of the mobile device can be used on the AVN system.The mirroring refers to a process of displaying contents, which aredisplayed on a terminal such as a mobile device, on a display device ofother system such as the AVN system of a vehicle, and in a broadermeaning, further refers to a process of operating functions of theterminal through the display device of the other system.

Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2013-0131209 describes anapparatus for using functions of a mobile device in a system of avehicle. This apparatus allows movie contents played on the mobiledevice to be displayed on an AVN system of the vehicle.

However, watching a movie while driving may lower the power ofconcentration of a driver, which sometimes occupies one of the maincauses of a traffic accident. For this reason, most auto companiesbasically adopt a so-called “drive control” to prohibit the moviecontents from being played while driving on their genuine in-vehicle AVNsystems.

If the mirroring service is provided on the AVN system without suchdrive control, the movie contents played on the mobile device are playedon the AVN system without filtering, which allows the movie to bedisplayed on the AVN system while driving, possibly causing a trouble interms of the safety.

In order to use the mirroring service on an AVN system that does nothave the mirroring function, an apparatus called “mirroring dongle” istypically used. The mirroring dongle is connected to the AVN system in awired manner, receives mirroring data from an external wireless terminalthrough a wireless communication, and transmits the mirroring data tothe AVN system, such that functions of the external wireless terminalcan be used on the AVN system.

As a drive control in using such mirroring dongle, when the mirroringdata contain movie contents, the wireless terminal notifies the AVNsystem of the fact that the contents of the mirroring data are moviecontents, through a separate Bluetooth™ connection between the wirelessterminal and the AVN system. However, in this case, system resources ofthe AVN system including the Bluetooth™ are consumed.

SUMMARY

A mirroring dongle according to some embodiments includes an interfaceunit configured to make a wired connection to an AVN (Audio, Video, andNavigation) system of a vehicle, which provides functions of audio,video, and navigation, and a processor including a receiving unitconfigured to receive driving information of the vehicle from the AVNsystem through the interface unit, and to receive mirroring data from anexternal wireless terminal through a wireless communication, adetermining unit configured to determine whether or not the vehicle ismoving, based on the driving information, and to determined a type ofthe mirroring data, whether the mirroring data are movie data ornon-movie data, a control unit configured, upon the determining unitdetermining that the vehicle is not moving, to output the mirroring dataas they are regardless of the type of the mirroring data, and upon thedetermining unit determining that the vehicle is moving, to output themirroring data as they are only when the mirroring data are thenon-movie data, and an output unit configured to output the mirroringdata to the AVN system through the interface unit.

A method of controlling mirroring data in a mirroring dongle accordingto some embodiments includes receiving driving information of a vehiclefrom an AVN (Audio, Video, and Navigation) system of the vehicle throughan interface unit configured to make a wired connection to the AVNsystem, which provides functions of audio, video, and navigation,receiving mirroring data from an external wireless terminal through awireless communication, determining whether or not the vehicle ismoving, based on the driving information, determining a type of themirroring data, whether the mirroring data are movie data or non-moviedata, controlling including when the vehicle is not moving, outputtingthe mirroring data as they are regardless of the type of the mirroringdata, and when the vehicle is moving, outputting the mirroring data asthey are only when the mirroring data are the non-movie data, andoutputting the mirroring data to the AVN system through the interfaceunit.

The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance of this disclosure will be better understood byreading the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments ofthe disclosure, when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mirroring system including amirroring dongle according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the mirroring dongle according to someembodiments;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a method of analyzingmirroring data in the mirroring dongle according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a method of analyzingmirroring data in the mirroring dongle, in which the mirroring data aredivided into a plurality of areas, according to some embodiments; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the method of analyzing the mirroring data inthe mirroring dongle according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detailbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mirroring system including amirroring dongle 100 according to some embodiments.

The mirroring dongle 100 according to some embodiments is connected toan AVN (Audio, Video, and Navigation) system 300 of a vehicle in a wiredmanner via an interface unit (not shown), receives driving informationof the vehicle from the AVN system 300 and mirroring data from awireless terminal 200, and outputs the received mirroring data to theAVN system 300. Specifically, the mirroring dongle 100 analyzes drivinginformation received from the AVN system 300 and mirroring data receivedfrom the wireless terminal 200, determines whether or not the vehicle ismoving based on the driving information, and determines a type of themirroring data, whether the mirroring data are movie data or non-moviedata. When the vehicle is moving, the mirroring dongle 100 outputs themirroring data as they are (without filtering) to the AVN system 300when the mirroring data are non-movie data. The AVN system 300 is aso-called “infotainment system” including audio function, videofunction, and navigation function, and the wireless terminal 200 is awireless device capable of transmitting contents of the terminal asmirror data (miracast), such as a smartphone. The non-movie data includenavigation data, map data, image data, audio data, and the like.

That is, when performing a mirroring service, the mirroring dongle 100according to some embodiments prohibits movie contents played on thewireless terminal 200 from being mirrored as they are on the AVN system300 when the vehicle is moving. In this case, the mirroring dongle 100controls the mirroring data to be mirrored as they are on the AVN system300 only when the mirroring data are non-movie data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the mirroring dongle 100 according to someembodiments.

The mirroring dongle 100 according to some embodiments includes areceiving unit 110, a determining unit 120, a control unit 130, and anoutput unit 140. In some embodiments, the mirroring dongle 100 includesa processor (not shown) such as a central processing unit (CPU), and thereceiving unit 110, the determining unit 120, the control unit 130, andthe output unit 140 are implemented in the processor as respectivefunction modules.

The receiving unit 110 receives the mirroring data from the wirelessterminal 200 by using at least one of communication methods includingBluetooth™, ultra wideband (UWB), and WiFi. To this end, the receivingunit 110 includes at least one of a Bluetooth communication module (notshown), a UWB communication module (not shown), or a WiFi communicationmodule (not shown) depending on the communication method used.

The determining unit 120 analyzes the received mirroring data, anddetermines a type of the mirroring data, whether the mirroring data aremovie data or non-movie data. Specifically, the determining unit 120detects an amount of change of the received mirroring data per unittime, and determines the type of the mirroring data based on thedetected amount of change of the mirroring data per unit time.

When the amount of change of the mirroring data per unit time is large,i.e., when a difference between the current data amount and the previousdata amount is large, the determining unit 120 determines that themirroring data are movie data. The movie data generally have a largechange in the video portion, and hence it is possible to determine thatthe mirroring data are movie data, which have a large change in thevideo portion, when a match rate of the data has a large difference bycomparing the current data with the previous data.

For example, when the match rate of the mirroring data is larger than apredetermined threshold value (i.e., a change rate is smaller than apredetermined threshold value), it is possible to determine that themirroring data are non-movie data. In some embodiments, when the matchrate of the mirroring data is smaller than 70% (or the change rate islarger than 30%), it is determined that the mirroring data are moviedata, and when the match rate of the mirroring data is larger than 70%(or the change rate is smaller than 30%), it is determined that themirroring data are non-movie data.

A method of analyzing the mirroring data is described in detail belowwith reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

When the result of analyzing the mirroring data received from thewireless terminal 200 by the determining unit 120 shows that themirroring data are non-movie data, the control unit 130 controls themirroring data to be outputted as they are (without filtering) to theAVN system 300 through the output unit 140, and when the result ofanalyzing the mirroring data shows that the mirroring data are moviedata, the control unit 130 controls the mirroring data not to beoutputted as they are to the AVN system 300 depending on a drivingstatus of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, when the vehicle is moving and the mirroring dataare movie data, the control unit 130 controls a portion of the mirroringdata, which corresponds to video data, to be filtered by a video filter(not shown) that filters video data, and only audio data to be outputtedto the AVN system 300 through the output unit 140. To this end, thedetermining unit 120 separates the video data and the audio data fromthe mirroring data.

The mirroring dongle 100 according to some embodiments receives thedriving information of the vehicle from the AVN system 300 that isconnected through a wired communication via the interface unit (notshown), and determines whether or not the vehicle is moving based on thereceived driving information of the vehicle. When the vehicle is moving,the mirroring dongle 100 further determines the type of the mirroringdata. When the mirroring data are non-movie data, the mirroring dongle100 outputs the mirroring data as they are to the AVN system 300, andwhen the mirroring data are movie data, the mirroring dongle 100 filtersthe video data and outputs only the audio data to the AVN system 300.

In some embodiments, when the vehicle is not moving, the control unit130 disables the determining unit 120, such that the mirroring datareceived from the wireless terminal 200 are outputted as they are to theAVN system 300 through the output unit 140.

The output unit 140 is connected to the AVN system 300, and themirroring data outputted to the AVN system 300 through the output unit140 are displayed on a display unit of the AVN system 300.

In some embodiments, the output unit 140 includes a wired communicationmodule, and is connected to the AVN system 300 through a wiredcommunication. However, the present disclosure is not limited to thisscheme, but the output unit 140 can include a wireless communicationmodule, such that the output unit 140 is connected to the AVN system 300through a wireless communication.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a method of analyzingmirroring data in the mirroring dongle 100 according to someembodiments.

The determining unit 120 stores the mirroring data received from thewireless terminal 200 in a memory (not shown) at predetermined timeintervals, compares current data with previous data, and obtains a matchrate (or amount of change) of the mirroring data.

For example, the determining unit 120 compares first data (current data)n with second data (previous data) n−1, and obtains the match rate (oramount of change) of the mirroring data, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

When the mirroring data are non-movie data such as image data ornavigation data, there is little change in video or even when there is achange in the video, the amount of the change is not that large, so thatthe change of the data with time is negligible. On the other hand, whenthe mirroring data are movie data, there is a large change in the video(for example, brightness, edge of a specific image, or color), and hencethe match rate is small (i.e., the amount of change of the data islarge) due to the change of the data with time.

Therefore, when the result of comparing the first data n and the seconddata n−1 shows a small match rate (large amount of change), thedetermining unit 120 determines that the mirroring data are movie data.

Even when the mirroring data are movie data, if the mirroring datainclude still picture data, there is substantially little change of thedata with time. Therefore, the comparison can be performed with, forexample, three pieces of data that temporally differ from one another,such as current data, previous data, and further previous data.

Therefore, in some embodiments, three pieces of data including firstdata n, second data n−1, and third data n−2 are compared with oneanother, and when the match rate of the data is small (the amount ofchange of the data is large), it is determined that the mirroring dataare movie data.

When the data to be compared are temporally adjacent to each other, inorder to determine the match rate (or amount of change) of the data moreprecisely, the time intervals among the three pieces of data can be setdifferently. For example, the time interval between the first data n andthe second data n−1 is set to a first time (for example 0.1 sec), whilethe time interval between the second data n−1 and the third data n−2 isset to a second time (for example, 1 sec). In this manner, by settingthe time intervals between the pieces of data to different times, forexample, the first time and the second time, the match rate of the datacan be determined more precisely based on a difference between the matchrates.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned time interval is too large,even if the mirroring data are movie data, there may be a largedifference between the match rates respectively corresponding to thetime intervals. Therefore, considering the navigation data, for example,the time interval needs to be set to a value within a time range inwhich the navigation data corresponding to each time interval havesimilar data.

Therefore, the above-mentioned time interval is set to a time for whichthe match rate is small for the movie data and the match rate is largefor the non-movie data such as the navigation data.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for illustrating a method of analyzingmirroring data in the mirroring dongle 100, in which the mirroring dataare divided into a plurality of areas, according to some embodiments.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the mirroring data are divided on a timedomain, and whole data of a predetermined time are compared with wholedata of different time, to determine the match rate. However, using thewhole data in the comparison may take time to analyze the data.

Therefore, in some embodiments, the mirroring data of each time aredivided into a plurality of areas, a predetermined number of areas areselected from the plurality of areas, and only the data corresponding tothe selected areas are used in the comparison to determine the matchrate.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the whole data are divided into fourareas A, B, C, and D, two areas A and D are selected form the fourareas, and the data corresponding to the selected areas A and D are usedin the comparison to determine the match rate.

In this manner, by dividing the mirroring data into a plurality ofareas, selecting a predetermined number of areas from the plurality ofareas, and comparing only the data corresponding to the selected areas,it is possible to analyze the mirroring data and make a determination ina less time-consuming manner.

In some embodiments, the amount the mirroring data to be comparedincludes brightness, edge of a specific image, and color of video dataobtained by separating video data and audio data from the mirroringdata.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the method of analyzing the mirroring data inthe mirroring dongle 100 according to some embodiments.

At Step S100, the receiving unit 110 receives the mirroring data fromthe wireless terminal 200 through a wireless communication.

At Step S110, the determining unit 120 analyzes the received mirroringdata.

The method of analyzing the mirroring data is substantially the same asthe ones described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In some embodiments, before analyzing the mirroring data at Step S110,the determining unit 120 determines a driving status of the vehicle,whether or not the vehicle is moving, based on the driving informationof the vehicle received from the AVN system 300. When the result of thedetermination indicates that the vehicle is moving, the determining unit120 analyzes the mirroring data at Step S110.

At Step S120, the determining unit 120 determines a type of themirroring data, whether the mirroring data are movie data or non-moviedata, based on the result of the analysis at Step S110.

When the result of the determination at Step S120 is “NO”, i.e., whenthe mirroring data are non-movie data, the control unit 130 outputs themirroring data received from the wireless terminal 200 as they are(without filtering) to the AVN system 300 through the output unit 140(Step S130).

When the result of the determination at Step S120 is “YES”, i.e., whenthe mirroring data are movie data, the control unit 130 filters thevideo data from the mirroring data received from the wireless terminal200 and outputs only the audio data to the AVN system 300 through theoutput unit 140.

As described above, the mirroring dongle 100 and the method ofcontrolling the mirroring-data according to some embodiments prohibitsthe movie contents from being watched while driving when using amirroring service from the wireless terminal 200 such as a mobile deviceon the AVN system 300 of a vehicle.

In addition, the mirroring dongle 100 and the method of controlling themirroring-data according to some embodiments determines whether themirroring data are movie data or non-movie data by analyzing themirroring data at the mirroring dongle 100 when applying the drivecontrol, and hence the mirroring service can be provided withoutconsuming the system resources of the AVN system 300.

It is an object of the present disclosure to analyze mirroring data at amirroring dongle without consuming system resources of an AVN system ofa vehicle, and when the mirroring data are movie data, blocks an outputof the movie data to the AVN system when the vehicle is moving, thuspreventing the power of concentration of a driver from being lowered.

The mirroring dongle and the method of controlling the mirroring-dataaccording to some embodiments prevents movie contents from being watchedwhile driving when using a mirroring service from a wireless terminalsuch as a mobile device on an AVN system of a vehicle.

Further, the mirroring dongle and the method of controlling themirroring-data according to some embodiments determines whether themirroring data are movie data or non-movie data by analyzing themirroring data at the mirroring dongle when applying the drive control,and hence the mirroring service can be provided without consuming thesystem resources of the AVN system.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the disclosure in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mirroring dongle, comprising: an interface unitconfigured to make a wired connection to an AVN (Audio, Video, andNavigation) system of a vehicle, the AVN system providing functions ofaudio, video, and navigation; and a processor including a receiving unitconfigured to receive driving information of the vehicle from the AVNsystem through the interface unit, and to receive mirroring data from anexternal wireless terminal through a wireless communication, adetermining unit configured to determine whether or not the vehicle ismoving, based on the driving information, and to determine a type of themirroring data, whether the mirroring data are movie data or non-moviedata, a control unit configured, upon the determining unit determiningthat the vehicle is not moving, to output the mirroring data as they areregardless of the type of the mirroring data, and upon the determiningunit determining that the vehicle is moving, to output the mirroringdata as they are only when the mirroring data are the non-movie data,and an output unit configured to output the mirroring data to the AVNsystem through the interface unit, and wherein the determining unit isconfigured to detect an amount of change of the mirroring data per unittime, and to compare the amount of change of the mirroring data per unittime with a predetermined threshold value, and to determine that themirroring data are movie data when the amount of change of the mirroringdata is larger than the threshold value.
 2. The mirroring dongleaccording to claim 1, wherein the determining unit is configured todivide the mirroring data into a plurality of areas, to select apredetermined number of areas from the plurality of areas, and todetermine the type of the mirroring data by using mirroring datacorresponding to the selected areas.
 3. The mirroring dongle accordingto claim 1, wherein the determining unit is configured to separate videodata and audio data from the mirroring data, to detect an amount ofchange of the video data per unit time, to compare the amount of changeof the video data per unit time with the threshold value, and todetermine that the mirroring data are movie data when the amount ofchange of the video data is larger than the threshold value.
 4. Themirroring dongle according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit isconfigured to separate video data and audio data from the mirroringdata, to perform an edge detection of an image of the video data, todetect an amount of change of a detected edge per unit time, to comparethe amount of change of the detected edge per unit time with thethreshold value, and to determine that the mirroring data are movie datawhen the amount of change of the detected edge per unit time is largerthan the threshold value.
 5. The mirroring dongle according to claim 1,wherein the determining unit is configured to separate video data andaudio data from the mirroring data, to detect color of the video data,to detect an amount of change of a detected color per unit time, tocompare the amount of change of the detected color per unit time withthe threshold value, and to determine that the mirroring data are moviedata when the amount of change of the color per unit time is larger thanthe threshold value.
 6. The mirroring dongle according to claim 1,wherein the determining unit is configured to separate video data andaudio data from the mirroring data, to detect brightness of the videodata, to detect an amount of change of a detected brightness per unittime, to compare the amount of change of the detected brightness perunit time with the threshold value, and to determine that the mirroringdata are movie data when the amount of change of the brightness per unittime is larger than the threshold value.
 7. The mirroring dongleaccording to claim 1, further comprising a video filter configured tofilter video data, wherein when the vehicle is moving and the mirroringdata are movie data, the control unit is configured to separate videodata and audio data from the mirroring data, to filter the video data byusing the video filter, and to output the audio data only to the AVNsystem through the interface unit.
 8. The mirroring dongle according toclaim 1, wherein the non-movie data include navigation data.
 9. A methodof controlling mirroring data, the method comprising: receiving drivinginformation of a vehicle from an AVN (Audio, Video, and Navigation)system of the vehicle through an interface unit configured to make awired connection to the AVN system, the AVN system providing functionsof audio, video, and navigation; receiving mirroring data from anexternal wireless terminal through a wireless communication; determiningwhether or not the vehicle is moving, based on the driving information;determining a type of the mirroring data, whether the mirroring data aremovie data or non-movie data; controlling including when the vehicle isnot moving, outputting the mirroring data as they are regardless of thetype of the mirroring data, and when the vehicle is moving, outputtingthe mirroring data as they are only when the mirroring data are thenon-movie data; and outputting the mirroring data to the AVN systemthrough the interface unit, and wherein the determining includesdetecting an amount of change of the mirroring data per unit time, andcomparing the amount of change of the mirroring data per unit time witha predetermined threshold value, and determining that the mirroring dataare movie data when the amount of change of the mirroring data is largerthan the threshold value.
 10. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe determining includes dividing the mirroring data into a plurality ofareas, selecting areas from the plurality of areas, and determining thetype of the mirroring data by using mirroring data corresponding to theselected areas.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein thedetermining includes separating video data and audio data from themirroring data, detecting an amount of change of the video data per unittime, comparing the amount of change of the video data per unit timewith the threshold value, and determining that the mirroring data aremovie data when the amount of change of the video data is larger thanthe threshold value.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein thedetermining includes separating video data and audio data from themirroring data, performing an edge detection of an image of the videodata, detecting an amount of change of a detected edge per unit time,comparing the amount of change of the detected edge per unit time withthe threshold value, and determining that the mirroring data are moviedata when the amount of change of the detected edge per unit time islarger than the threshold value.
 13. The method according to claim 9,wherein the determining includes separating video data and audio datafrom the mirroring data, detecting color of the video data, detecting anamount of change of a detected color per unit time, comparing the amountof change of the detected color per unit time with the threshold value,and determining that the mirroring data are movie data when the amountof change of the color per unit time is larger than the threshold value.14. The method according to claim 9, wherein the determining includesseparating video data and audio data from the mirroring data, detectingbrightness of the video data, detecting an amount of change of adetected brightness per unit time, comparing the amount of change of thedetected brightness per unit time with the threshold value, anddetermining that the mirroring data are movie data when the amount ofchange of the brightness per unit time is larger than the thresholdvalue.
 15. The method according to claim 9, wherein when it isdetermined that the vehicle is moving and the mirroring data are moviedata at the determining, the controlling further includes separatingvideo data and audio data from the mirroring data, filtering the videodata by using a video filter configured to filter the video data, andoutputting the audio data only to the AVN system through the interfaceunit.
 16. The method according to claim 9, wherein the non-movie datainclude navigation data.